Tropical Coco Nots Recipe

This yeast-raised doughnut recipe is heavily adapted from Heidi Swanson’s website, and flavoured with the divine tropical flavours of coconut and pineapple. Don't over bake these, if anything, under bake them a bit - they will continue baking outside the oven for a few minutes.
Read more You want an interior that is moist and tender - not dry. The dough can be made and baked a day ahead if necessary (store loosely covered at room temperature), but they need to be served within a few hours of being filled and glazed, otherwise they will go soggy. See less

How to make it

Stir in the eggs, flours and salt just until the flour is incorporated.

With the dough hook attachment of your mixer beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed.

If your dough is overly sticky, add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Too dry? Add more milk a bit at a time. You want the dough to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and eventually become supple and smooth.

Turn it out onto a floured counter-top, knead a few times (the dough should be barely sticky), and shape into a ball.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover, put in a warm place.

Let rise for an hour or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and roll it out 1/2-inch thick on your floured countertop. Cut out circles using a round cookie cutter or glass.

Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Cover with a clean cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes.

Bake in a 375 degree oven 8 minutes.

Cool completely on wire rack.

Fill a piping bag fitted with a Bismark tube (like Ateco #230 or #231) with the pineapple preserves.

Fill each doughnut. Do not over-fill!

Blend Splenda and cornstarch in a blender or food processor until powdery. Pour into a shallow bowl, whisk in hot water and coconut extract until a thick but spreadable paste is formed.

Dip filled doughnuts in the icing, sprinkle with shredded coconut and set back on rack to cool.